Is Your Heart Still Beating
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: Beau encounters an old friend, long thought dead, who tells him an incredible story. In between working through the pain and the anger left over after several years, Beau finds himself believing it. And that leads to the strangest adventure he has likely ever had.
1. Chapter 1

**Maverick**

 **Is Your Heart Still Beating**

 **By Lucky_Ladybug**

 **Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! I've wondered for months whether to actually post this piece if I ever got to write enough of my crossover timeline that it would be time to insert this installment. While it's perfectly acceptable for** _ **The Wild Wild West**_ **and has been part of my timeline for that series ever since I decided to "fix" the deaths in the** _ **Poisonous Posey**_ **episode years ago, it's rather sci-fi for** _ **Maverick.**_ **Still, both shows are unconventional Westerns and since I've already been crossing them over, that means they're in a shared universe in all of these stories. So, hopefully it won't be too weird to accept? I didn't want to omit this installment after getting up to the previous one, and I found I couldn't write this one without getting into the sci-fi elements. (I tried.) Part of me kind of wants to continue it beyond this first chapter, but that would go even deeper into sci-fi territory, so I'm not sure whether to do so or not.**

Beau sighed sadly to himself as he left the saloon in another one-horse town of many and trudged down the darkened street. He removed his wallet from his inside coat pocket, slipping the new winnings inside before replacing the object in his pocket.

It had been three years since they had received the news that Lucrece Posey's criminal empire had fallen apart and her board members, including Snakes Tolliver, had all been killed. It seemed much longer.

Beau had found he wasn't willing after all to just accept the word of a newspaper reporter regarding what had happened. He had journeyed to Justice, Nevada and had interviewed the sheriff, the deputy, and other townspeople about that fateful night. He had also obtained the names of the Secret Service agents involved and had gone to Washington, D.C. to see them.

He had learned a few more details, most particularly that one of the agents, Jim West, had witnessed Snakes' attempt to kill Lucrece Posey with an explosive-laden gavel and Lucrece's immediate and swift retaliation. Snakes was dead; Lucrece had killed him with the poison under her fingernails.

 _"But what if he wasn't dead?"_ Beau had protested in desperation. _"Maybe the poison didn't kill instantaneously. Maybe someone found him and nursed him back to health!"_

West had doubted it. The poison had been researched from samples taken from Lucrece herself and it had been found to be an instantaneous killer. Anyway, he knew for a surety that the other board members were dead; he had killed Pinto in self-defense with a makeshift spear and he had witnessed Brutus falling back on his own rifle, which had then gone off. And he had also fought Sergei atop his horse and sent him falling off to his death. Gallito and Cyril were just as dead. None of them had been found and nursed back to health.

So there was still that question of who had taken all of the bodies while West and his partner Artemus Gordon had been occupied with catching Lucrece Posey and Ascot Sam, a visiting criminal not on the board. Although they had investigated for days, they had never turned up any leads and had been forced to abandon the issue as more pressing matters came along.

Beau was not pleased. But though he had also tried to investigate, his attempts had fallen on dead ends. So he had returned to traveling aimlessly and gambling, as he had done for years. Life had gone on much as it always had, but there was always a certain emptiness, a hole left by the death of a most unlikely but genuine friend.

Part of him was still angry and confused. Why had Snakes tried to kill Lucrece when he had known it was dangerous? That was one question the Secret Service agents had not been able to answer. West had assumed it was a power struggle and Snakes had been trying to usurp the leadership position. That was what he had threatened to do in Beau's presence.

A Mexican Secret Service agent had quite another story. She had approached Snakes and asked him to help her bring down the syndicate, which she was trying to break through its Latin-American link, Gallito. Snakes had initially balked and refused, citing his desire for self-preservation, but for some mysterious reason he had later recanted and agreed to help. He had fed her enough information about Gallito's operations that she and her other agents had been able to greatly weaken his hold in Mexico. Still, he had refused to go even further and report on everyone, fearful for his survival should they find out. He was sure that what was happening in Mexico would be a topic during the upcoming quarterly meeting of the board.

A revolution attempt had prevented her from getting back to the messages in her office until the day of the meeting, but when she had managed to see them she found a cryptic note from Snakes that had promised his help if she would help him. She and her Lieutenant had gone to Justice as soon as they could, but it was already too late.

Her feeling was that Snakes had become so terrified that the other board members knew of his duplicity that he had acted in impulsive terror with the explosive-laden gavel. She was angry too, but at herself as well as Snakes. She hated that she had failed to save him.

Knowing what Beau knew of Snakes, he had a feeling that the truth was a combination of both reasons. Snakes had wanted out, yet he had figured the only way out was to take over. As for giving information to the Mexican Secret Service, Beau was not in the least surprised. There had not been anything in it for him, monetarily-speaking, yet he had still opted to help. That was consistent with his behavior around all of the Mavericks. Even when he had wanted money, he had helped them for other reasons instead.

Lucrece Posey had escaped from prison some time back. Nothing had been heard of her since, and it only made Beau more angry and bitter. Where was she? Was she starting a new life of crime all over again after leaving such a trail of destruction and death in her wake? Beau hoped he would never hear that she had built her syndicate up again. He would probably want to dismantle it personally if he did. Maybe if he and Bret had really worked to overthrow the syndicate in the past, Snakes would still be alive.

The snap of a twig around the side of a building startled Beau back to the present. He spun around, one hand drifting near the gun strapped to his side. "Who's there?!" he demanded.

"Beau . . ." The voice was gravelly and low, tinged with a Southern accent. "It's me."

A chill went up Beau's spine. "Snakes?!" He stepped closer to the building, keeping his hand near his gun. Snakes was dead. He couldn't be here unless Beau was seeing his ghost, and from Beau's own experience, that never happened unless there was an emergency.

But the man looking back at Beau was solid. And he looked and sounded exactly like Snakes.

"Snakes . . . ?" Beau was still cautious. "Is it . . . really you? Can it be?"

Snakes managed a tired smirk. "It is."

"But you . . . you're dead," Beau exclaimed.

"I'm not now." Snakes held out a hand. "See? I'm alive."

Beau reached for the hand, slowly at first, then frantically grasping it. "How?" he whispered.

Snakes gripped at Beau's hand in response. "It's a long story. . . . You probably wouldn't believe it if I tried to tell you."

"Try me," Beau retorted, but something gave him pause. He rocked back, feeling the twisted skin on the back of Snakes' hand. "Snakes, what . . ."

"I got burned," Snakes said abruptly. "Didn't heal right. It's okay, nothing serious. I can still use the hand; I've just got one more scar to add to my collection."

Beau let go, sensing that Snakes didn't want to talk about it. "Alright," he said. "But how did you find me? It's not so easy to locate a Maverick."

"I picked up your trail in Justice, Nevada and followed you here," Snakes explained.

"Oh." Beau looked down. "Yes, I was in Justice recently. I don't know why; it's not really a fun place to visit with all of its bizarre rules and regulations."

Snakes smirked, but it looked forced. "You got that right."

Beau quickly snapped to. "Come back to the hotel with me," he implored. "Tell me what happened to you. Tell me why you did it." He looked at Snakes hard, the pain and anguish of the past three years rising to the surface. " _Why,_ Snakes?! You told me you weren't going to do it!"

"I wasn't," Snakes replied, keeping his voice down. "Shh! Beau, do you really wanna wake up the whole town?!"

"No, I don't." But Beau clenched a fist. "You don't know what it's been like for me, finding out you were dead, finding out why it happened. I've had to wonder all this time if . . . if it was my fault."

"It was _not_ your fault!" Snakes exclaimed in sickened shock. "It was my own stupid cowardice, my insistence on staying alive no matter what I had to do. I gave some information to the Mexican Secret Service about Gallito. Then I got scared thinking Posey knew. I was sure she was going to kill me at the meeting. I tried to wire the Secret Service lady for help, but she didn't get it in time. And I . . . I did something desperate. It was what I'd toyed with doing anyway. I guess I hoped if it worked, I'd be sitting pretty at the top again. I wasn't thinking about the fact that the others probably wouldn't follow me, especially Pinto and Brutus. I was just thinking about myself, as usual."

"As usual?!" Beau grabbed hold of Snakes' upper arms, staring at the former crime boss. "Snakes, you're always thinking you're so selfish when it isn't true. Of course you have those moments; everyone does. But overall you're _less_ selfish than most people I've met. And sometimes that still sounds strange when I think about what you were and what you did, but it's the truth."

Snakes gave a weary and sad sigh and a half-smirk of resignation. "It feels good to hear someone believe in me again," he said quietly. "I haven't believed in myself for a long time."

Beau frowned, really looking into Snakes' eyes. It wasn't easy to see in the light shining from the moon and from the lamps on the street, but there was something in Snakes' words and his face that haunted Beau. That sight started to melt the anger and pain still in his heart. He had suffered, but so had Snakes.

"Snakes," he said quietly, "what happened to you?"

"I died," Snakes answered just as quietly. "And I went to the worst Hell possible. I was tortured by Pinto until my mind and my will and my dignity were all just about gone. When it was finally over, even you couldn't have said I wasn't selfish. I wanted nothing more than to make sure I never got caught in a mess like that again, no matter who got hurt or who got dragged down right along with Posey and her crew when I got rid of them."

They started to walk. Somehow it seemed odd, even wrong, to think of speaking of something as dark as this in a lighted hotel room, but at the same time, Beau didn't like the thought of any possible wanderers in town overhearing such a conversation.

"'Posey _and_ her crew'?" Beau repeated. "But Snakes, you and she should be the only ones still alive right now."

"They're _all_ alive," Snakes insisted. "Just like me. We had a huge confrontation on a mountain in Southern California. I tried to blow everybody to Kingdom Come. Instead I only got myself hurt again. Woke up bleeding into the snow."

"Is that how you got burned?" Beau asked.

"Nah, that came later," Snakes grunted. "I actually wasn't trying to hurt anybody that time." He shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "I try to help myself, I get hurt. I try to do something better, I still get hurt. Just like in the past."

"But you're alive," Beau said quietly, almost as though he still wondered if this was a dream.

"Yeah." Snakes looked up at the stars as they walked. "Anyway, after what happened when I got burned, I decided I was going to try to go straight. No more crime-bossing." He glanced to Beau. "It's not easy, especially since I've been involved in some kind of crimes since I was a kid. But I'm managing so far. I decided to go back to gambling. Honestly this time."

"Do you travel?" Beau asked.

Snakes chuckled. "Oh boy, do I travel. Not like you're thinking, though. As far as the job goes, I hold still. I work at one particular place."

"Where is it?" Beau wondered. "Maybe I could drop in sometime."

"I could take you there sometime," Snakes said. "You wouldn't be able to get there without me. It's . . . uh . . . kind of tucked away."

Beau raised an eyebrow. "Do you get much business?"

"Oh yeah, quite a bit."

They were at the hotel now. Beau led Snakes around to the back and opened the service door. "Then those people must know how to get there. Why not just give me the directions?"

Snakes rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not that simple. I could give you the directions, but you'd never believe it."

"That's the second time you've told me I wouldn't believe some aspect of this," Beau said. His patience and temper were starting to crack again as they went inside and headed up the stairs. "I don't know if I believe any of it now! It already seems like a dream that can't possibly be real. People don't come back from the dead."

"You did," Snakes replied.

"Yes, but I was reunited with my cousins that same day!" Beau retorted, not stopping to wonder how Snakes even knew about that. "You can't just waltz back into my life after all this time and think that I won't ask questions! Where have you been for _three years?!_ Why didn't you come back before and let me know you were alright? No, _how_ are you alright?!"

Now they were going down the hall. Snakes looked around furtively, hoping no one was going to open their doors and look at them. "Sometimes I don't know myself," he said. "But I came back to find you as soon as I could think straight, Beau. Please believe that."

Beau reached his room and unlocked the door. After Snakes stepped inside, Beau entered too and pulled it shut after them. "I do believe it," he admitted. "But it doesn't tell me where you were."

Snakes looked down, guilty, unsure of himself. "I don't really know how to explain it," he said.

"Did it have something to do with whoever stole your body?" Beau pounced.

"It had _everything_ to do with her." Snakes looked up again. "She wanted to figure out how to revive the dead. She had this idea about using channeled electricity from lightning storms to jumpstart the heart again and she decided she was going to experiment on Posey's gang. She figured crooks would be the best guinea pigs. No family or friends to come looking for them, you know?"

Beau stared at him. "You really have been through Hell on more levels than one, haven't you?"

"Actually, that part wasn't so bad," Snakes said. "I didn't mind her fiddling around since it ended up working. Pinto was what broke me." He shuddered.

"But a character like that woman . . . !" Beau shook his head. "It sounds like something out of a Gothic horror novel."

Snakes smirked. "You're not far-off. That's probably where she got the idea." He paused, suddenly concerned. "But I'm not like that Frankenstein's monster or anything like that. I'm just me, like I always have been."

"I know that, Snakes," Beau assured him. "I wasn't even thinking of anything otherwise."

Snakes relaxed. "That's good. There's no way I could tell most people what happened to me. They'd start avoiding me like the plague."

Beau winced. "Yes, some of them might," he said.

"And some would say it was witchcraft and I had to be killed because it just wasn't natural." Snakes shuddered.

"It's not witchcraft," Beau objected. "It sounds like science."

"Do you think some of the simpletons in these dinky little towns would agree with that?" Snakes replied with a self-depreciating smirk. "Maybe even some of the people in big cities wouldn't be able to accept the idea." He sighed. "I've met a lot of decent people who are just trying to survive, same as me. But I've also met a lot of stupidly prejudiced people who just can't accept anything different from them. The guy who did _this_ to me was like that." He held a hand to his left cheek.

Beau sighed too. "You're right," he conceded. "There are a lot of people like that, unfortunately." He frowned. "But how are you going to publicly explain your return?"

"I wasn't planning to 'publicly' explain anything," Snakes said. "I'd rather keep a low profile as much as possible. But if someone I don't really know asks me and I have to say something, I'll probably just make some smart-aleck crack. Or say I faked my death until it was safe to come back."

"Is it safe?" Beau exclaimed. "Miss Posey escaped from prison. What if she comes after you again?"

"We've already had all the clashes we're going to," Snakes said. "After the last time we saw each other, she agreed to make sure her gang leaves me alone if I leave them alone."

"And you believe her?" Beau frowned. "She isn't known for keeping her word."

"Ordinarily I wouldn't believe her, but because of the circumstances of that last meeting, I do," Snakes said.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Beau said.

"I think so," Snakes said. "Anyway, half the time we probably won't even be in the same area at all, so that's a bonus."

"It certainly is.

"So you went through being a mad scientist's experiment, and Pinto torturing you . . ." Beau still looked overwhelmed. "Once you were alive again and free of all that, it's hard to blame you for going into such a panic that you wanted to kill off the entire gang so they couldn't get at you any more."

Snakes started to walk across the floor, restless, his hands back in his pockets. "Where I'm living now, they have these ideas about things like that. I think they'd say I was suffering from some serious trauma disorder." He stopped and turned back. "Maybe I was. But I'm back to myself now; you don't have to worry that I'm some kind of a mental case."

"I wasn't thinking that," Beau assured him. "You seem fine. Well, sadder and wiser, definitely, but still basically the same Snakes Tolliver."

"Do you really believe what I've been telling you?" Snakes asked.

"I don't disbelieve it, but I still wonder what's going to happen in the morning when I wake up," Beau said. He hesitated. "There were times when I dreamed that you'd come back as I did and we were talking. But then I woke up and discovered it wasn't real."

Snakes sighed. "If spirits could sleep, I probably would've dreamed about being alive again too." He looked regretful. "I've never been good under pressure. Every day I've wished I hadn't panicked and tried to do that to Posey. And ever since I got burned, I've wished I hadn't wasted some of the time being alive again just running around trying to get rid of all of them."

"You can make up for it now," Beau said. "But Snakes, when you were in such a state, what made you do whatever it was that got you burned?"

"Even then, I hated myself for being such a coward," Snakes admitted. "When I got this, though . . ." He ran his left hand over the twisted skin on his right. ". . . I wasn't really thinking at all." He paused. "I guess I might as well tell you what happened."

"Yes, I wish you would," said Beau.

"This doomsday organization was trying to basically destroy the world and everyone was trying to knock the device out of commission. I got saddled into trying to help Artemus Gordon blow up the clock that was counting down to when the thing would go off. We thought it worked, but then we found there was a back-up clock. I was the closest to the thing and I didn't think; I just climbed up on it with a gun and found the back-up clock." Snakes shook his head. "I hesitated for a minute. I knew I was going to die if I shot out the clock. That would cause the device to blow up, but it wouldn't take anything else with it. I thought maybe at least if I was the only one who died, Pinto couldn't torture me any more and I could rest in peace."

"And you surely didn't want a lot of innocent people to be hurt or killed either," Beau quietly prompted.

Snakes looked down. "No, I didn't. But I figured my reasons were mostly selfish. I shot out the thing and the device blew up and I went down in flames. We were on a ship and I fell in the water. Jim West dove in to get me out, even though he was pretty sure I was dead. Pinto actually pulled us both up with his lasso. He doesn't like me any more than he ever did, but I guess he figured he owed me that, at least, after Artemus Gordon prompted him to help."

He looked up again. "Well, long story short, I didn't die again, obviously. And the Secret Service agents, they seemed to figure that I'd done something really unselfish and brave. They liked me some. And that was when I decided to try going straight again, even though it'd never worked for me before. Just looking out for myself never worked so good either."

"You did do something unselfish and brave," Beau said. "I don't believe for one minute that your reasoning was solely selfish. But why haven't I heard anything about this? I've heard at least whispers of some of the other doomsday plots those Secret Service agents have been involved in. When madmen are threatening to take over the entire state of California or destroy all the nation's crops with genetically-modified boll weevils, it's impossible not to hear something, even if it doesn't sound believable."

"There's whispers of it where I've been living," Snakes admitted. "Nobody here would know about it."

"And where _are_ you living now?" Beau demanded. "That was the other thing you told me I wouldn't believe."

Snakes looked awkward. "Maybe we should save that part of the explanation for the morning."

Beau frowned but didn't push it. Snakes had already revealed a great deal tonight. If he was still hesitant about the other topic, he should be given more time to get ready to talk about it. Beau wouldn't push him.

"Are you staying in the hotel?" he asked instead.

"I'm not staying anywhere," Snakes said. "I just came to find you."

"Then stay here overnight," Beau implored. "It's too late to go anywhere now."

"I wasn't going to anyway," Snakes said. "I was hoping for an invite."

That brought a chuckle. "Oh, Snakes." Beau shook his head. "Now I'm glad I got a room with double beds. There weren't any single beds still available."

Snakes smirked. "That is a good thing." He took off his hat. "I was planning to sleep on the couch, but a bed sounds a whole lot better."

Beau smiled. "Then take your pick. You should have first choice."

"They're both the same, I imagine." Snakes wandered into the bedroom and flopped on the nearest bed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," said Beau as he came to the doorway, and he wondered if Snakes would really still be there when he opened his eyes come morning.

"Beau?"

Beau started and turned, pausing in the process of removing his coat. "What?"

Snakes rose off the bed. "I'm sorry for how you've suffered. I never wanted that."

Beau gave a sad smile. "I know. But as long as you're really here, it's alright, Snakes. I can get past what I went through. Your suffering was far worse."

"Probably deserved, though," Snakes muttered. "Yours wasn't." Louder he said, "And I really am here. It's not a dream."

"Good," Beau said fervently as he undid and pulled off his string tie.

Snakes slumped back into the bed, his hat falling over his eyes.

Beau watched him in amusement. "Aren't you going to get undressed?"

Snakes shrugged. "I didn't bring anything else to wear. I'll have to remember that for next time; this is my first time back."

"Still, you apparently knew you'd be spending the night," Beau remarked.

Snakes opened one eye, looking out at Beau from under his hat. "Yeah . . . but I'm too tired to get undressed anyway."

Beau shook his head. "Suit yourself."

Soon he had washed up and was climbing into bed. Snakes hadn't exaggerated about being tired; he was already asleep. Beau observed him in gentle amusement and awe before sleep started to overtake him.

"If this isn't a dream, this is one of the most wonderful experiences of my life," he said quietly to himself. "How many people get to reunite with a dead friend while still alive themselves?"

He sank into the pillow, not sure he would sleep even though it was fast approaching. His eyes closed almost without him even being aware of it.

xxxx

Beau almost didn't remember what had happened when morning dawned. He was in such a fog of sleep that he wasn't sure of much of anything other than that sleep had been good and he wasn't alone in the room.

He turned, looking to the other bed. Snakes was there, lying on his stomach and hugging the pillow with both arms. Seeing the peaceful image brought back all of the night's events and strange conversations, and now that Beau saw Snakes asleep and alive and breathing, he could still scarcely believe it was true even though the proof was in front of him that it was.

Slowly he got out of bed and went to the water pitcher to wash up. Snakes didn't move at first, but then he stirred, letting go of the pillow and rolling onto his side.

"Good morning," Beau greeted.

"Morning," Snakes mumbled. He looked up at the ceiling, as if wondering where something was that should be there, and then he remembered why it wasn't. He slumped into the pillow, watching Beau through half-open eyes.

"I hope I didn't wake you," Beau apologized.

"Nah. It's alright." Snakes ran a hand into his blond hair.

"Do you feel like continuing our conversation yet?" Beau asked.

"I wonder if you'd be more or less receptive on a full stomach," Snakes mused.

"Snakes, if it's so strange as all that, I don't think anything could make me more receptive than I am now," Beau retorted.

"You might think I'm crazy or lying," Snakes said.

"Try me," Beau persisted. He came back to the bed and sat on the edge of it.

Snakes went up on one elbow, looking over at him. "That woman's experiments, they kind of got out of control," he said carefully.

"I'd think they would," Beau said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but you'd never imagine how. The one that revived me and Gallito ended up ripping a hole in space." Snakes paused, hesitant to go on.

Beau was definitely baffled. "A hole . . . in space," he slowly repeated.

Snakes nodded. "Now it connects two different times."

Beau stared at him. "We really are treading into bizarre territory."

"See, you don't believe me," Snakes shot back.

"It's a lot to take in," Beau admitted. "There are theories about time-travel, but nothing has been proven."

"It has now. I've been living about 140 years in the future." Snakes sat up, completely serious. "It's an incredible place, really. There's all kinds of fast communication devices and transportation vehicles. Everything's very modernized. There's still little towns like this, but the big cities are really where it's at."

Beau leaned back, trying to process this outlandish claim. "This . . . still seems like part of the dream," he had to confess. "I don't know what to think."

Snakes smirked. "Oh well, I can't blame you. Who _would_ believe it? If you want another opinion, though, those Secret Service agents Jim West and Artemus Gordon have been in the other time too. They're back now; you could wire them."

"I wouldn't want to go to them over you," Beau frowned. "I don't think you're lying or crazy, Snakes, but it _is_ overwhelming."

"Hey, I was pretty overwhelmed too, at first," Snakes said. "Sometimes I still am."

Beau hesitated. "Do you . . . like it better there?"

"In some ways. In other ways I'm still a product of here. This guy I've met, Coley Rodman, he's adjusted a lot more to modern living than I have. He doesn't look back at all. He only comes here on visits to see his mother. If it wasn't for that, he would close off all connections with this time and stay in the other one permanently.

"Me, I . . . feel like I'll always be part of both times now. I guess I'm not actually sure where I belong. I like the new time, with all of its fancy devices, but the clothes are a lot more interesting here." He smirked a bit, then sobered. "And there's still people here I care about. Before, I never would've thought I'd have that. You really changed a lot of things for me, Beau. I'm not a mushy person or anything, but my life's been better for knowing you." Snakes looked at him in all sincerity.

Beau looked back, definitely moved. Snakes had changed, perhaps for the better. The burden Beau had carried for the past three years was starting to lift. This wasn't a dream and Snakes wasn't insane. Somehow he knew that.

"I believe you, Snakes," he said at last. "And I'm glad I met you. You made me face things I knew deep down and you showed me that I wasn't the only person to have such feelings. And you showed me that goodness can be found in the most unlikely of places." He hesitated. "Can . . . anyone visit this other time?"

"Sure," Snakes said. "The portal was closed off at first and we were all trapped on the futuristic side, but when I confronted the gang on the mountain I kind of accidentally blew it open. So, like I said, I can take you there. If you want."

An adventurous gleam sparkled in Beau's eyes. "How could I pass something like that up? I'm an explorer by nature." He started as a concern came back to him. "It . . . _is_ easy to return, isn't it? I wouldn't be able to stay indefinitely, not with all my family here."

"It's completely easy," Snakes assured him. He grimaced. "I guess they could come visit too, if they wanted and if you'd rather they were along."

"Bret has actually been very sad about your death as well," Beau told him gravely. "I told you he cared."

Snakes averted his gaze. "Well, it's been three years. Maybe I'd feel different about him now."

"He deserves to know you're alright. And I'm sure he'd be curious about this new time. Cousin Bart too." Beau paused. "But if you'd rather show it to me alone before the others know, that's alright. I can send a telegram that I'll be traveling for a couple of days or so."

Snakes relaxed. "I'd like that best," he admitted. "But you're really ready to take a plunge like this? I've been wondering for days how to explain it to you and figuring we'd be arguing for hours over the ridiculousness of the whole thing. I've kind of dreaded coming to you and telling you because I figured that's how it would be and I didn't want to argue with you after everything else."

"Everything since you came to me feels unreal," Beau said. "But I've touched you; I've seen you're alive. If something that fantastic can be true, maybe the rest of what you're saying is as well. I know I don't think you're mad. And you wouldn't lie to me about something like this."

"You're right, I wouldn't," Snakes declared. He paused. "I think I have something with me from the other time. Yeah, here it is." He held out a small and blue rectangular object and flicked the gears on the top. A flame emerged.

Beau stared in fascination. "What is that?"

"A cigar lighter," Snakes said. "I shouldn't still use the things, really; I've found out they're hazardous to your health. I've cut down on them a lot, but old habits die hard. So I carry this around with me."

Beau took the lighter as Snakes held it out. He played with the gears, bringing up the flame several times. "This is amazing," he said. "It's certainly more convenient than matches!"

Snakes grinned. "If you think that's something, wait'll you see what else they've got!" He looked hopeful. "If you're really okay with going, maybe we could set out after breakfast? It's not that far from here; it's a couple of miles or so out of Justice."

"I don't see any reason to postpone it," Beau said cheerily. "I'm ready for a new adventure with an old friend."

Snakes smiled. "Good. It'll be quite the adventure; I can promise you that."

"I know," said Beau. "And I'm looking forward to it."

And he was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Snakes was quiet as they rode on rented horses into the desert. That was a change from his talkative behavior before and during breakfast, and as they kept pace with each other, Beau watched him in silent wonder.

It had been a long day. Following a hearty breakfast, during which Beau had asked many questions, he had sent his telegram to Bret and Bart and they had departed the little town. Beau hadn't traveled very far from Justice, and thanks to a recent railroad line put in near the town, it hadn't taken them too long to get back to it. At least, the two-hour ride was certainly an improvement over the days when the closest train had been forty miles away instead of five. Snakes remembered it that way.

He had been animated during breakfast as Beau had only rarely seen him, grinning mischievously as he had talked of horseless carriages and telephones and electricity and something called the Internet. He had answered most of Beau's amazed questions and told him he would have to wait and see on certain others. But the closer they had come to Justice, the more sobered he had become. Beau had to admit that now he was somewhat concerned.

"What is it, Snakes?" he asked at last.

Snakes started. "Oh . . . it's just this place," he said gruffly. "Brings back bad memories."

"I can imagine," Beau frowned. "It can't be easy returning to the place where you died."

Snakes offered a nod and a half-shrug and a "Yeah" in response. Somehow Beau had the feeling he was missing a key point.

". . . You said that you were trapped on the other side of the portal until you blasted it open," he said. "Is that where you've been for three years?"

Snakes gave a weak smirk. "I wish." The afternoon sun beat down overhead, but somehow it still couldn't light the shadows on Snakes' face or in his eyes.

Beau drew closer. "Snakes . . ." He spoke quietly. "What am I missing here? Surely you trust me; I've listened to and believe all the incredible things you've told me."

Snakes let out a shaking breath. "Yeah, and that's incredible to me. I didn't think anyone could believe this wild stuff." His shoulders slumped. "But I have to admit, I kind of misled you. I knew I wasn't being exactly clear on where I was all this time and I didn't try to explain more after you believed everything I was brave enough to say."

"After everything else you've told me, how could it possibly get stranger?" Beau exclaimed.

"Okay." Snakes leaned on the horse as he looked over at Beau. "I guess I'd better drop the bomb. You might find out sooner or later anyway, and I'd rather you hear it from me than someone else.

"I was trapped as a spirit in Justice for three years. It took the mad scientist lady Dr. Faustina that long to figure out how to bring everybody back to life. She was preserving all the bodies during that time somehow. I probably don't wanna know how she stumbled on that knowledge." He shuddered, shutting his eyes against the memories. "I was tortured by Pinto all over Justice for three years. I've only been alive and in the other time for several months."

Beau could only stare at him, stunned beyond belief. "I . . . I thought that woman must have brought you back that same night," he said. "I assumed you must have been in the other time all these years."

Snakes nodded. "I wish I could say that's how it was, but it wasn't. I should have told you the truth immediately, I guess." He opened his eyes again, wanting to see Beau after hearing the appalled inflections in his voice. "I was afraid you'd think I was some kind of zombie or something. It sounds crazy enough to have been brought back to life by electricity at all, but after three years of being dead . . ." He shook his head. "It's just not done."

Beau was still staring, looking sickened now. "I don't think any such thing." He spoke in a haunted, hushed tone. "I could never begin to understand the Hell you went through. It must be horrible for you to see this place again. I'm overwhelmed that you'd even come back here at all. You wouldn't have had to; you're apparently settling into your new life in this other time. And yet you came back to find me and let me know you're alright."

"Well . . ." Snakes' shoulders rose and fell. "I can't say it was completely unselfish. You're the first real friend I've ever had who didn't end up dead or a selective amnesiac. I couldn't forget about you like some of them forgot me. I wouldn't want to."

"I'm still moved," Beau insisted. "To hear some people tell it, you don't value anyone's friendship. I believed that before I met you. After I met you, I knew it wasn't true."

"Oh, there's some friendships I don't value, alright," Snakes said as he started his horse going again. "Mainly the ones that never valued me."

Beau followed him. "Were you ever actually betrayed by a so-called friend?" he frowned.

"As a kid, yeah. Some smart-aleck pretended to like me because he hoped I'd swipe some food for him like I did for myself. Then when I did and we got found out, he put all the blame on me." Snakes sneered. "I learned not to run any favors for friends."

"And yet you put your very life on the line more than once for me," Beau said.

"Because I liked you," Snakes said gruffly. "And because I trusted you not to turn against me. I stayed up late nights raking myself over the coals for it; I'm not a trusting sort anymore. Part of me insisted I shouldn't make an exception in your case. But the part of me that wanted to won out."

"I'm glad," said Beau.

"I should probably tell you, though, that after Pinto tortured me so much, I wondered if you really would still care." Snakes sighed, wearily. "I was a nothing, a nobody, in spite of all my criminal rackets and all my money. Pinto cut me down to size. It was hard to believe that anyone could see any value in me."

"I'm not really surprised by that, either," Beau said, although anger tinged his voice. "That's the sort of treatment you've received all of your life. Maybe I started to be able to do something to help you feel like you were worth something, but then Pinto knocked it all down again."

Snakes nodded. "I thought about you a lot. When I was recovering after getting burned, I started thinking I should come out here and see how you felt. If you really still cared, I couldn't just let you go on thinking I was dead."

"I'm glad you didn't," Beau said firmly. He paused. "These other people you know. Do they know anything about me? I just want to know how to best present myself," he added.

"No, I'm not close enough to any of them to have told them about you," Snakes said. "But most of them are from this time anyway. Of those that aren't, they all still know about it except for my boss. So uh, don't say anything about being from the 1870s unless he pins you down on it."

Beau nodded. "Got it."

"And we're here." Snakes stopped next to a bizarre, filmy oval suspended slightly off the ground. He climbed off his horse. "The horses'll go back to town. We don't wanna take them with us."

Beau dismounted as well. "Don't unsuspecting people walk into this portal sometimes?" He reached out to touch it and it rippled like water.

"Yep. Those Secret Service agents, they often have to take people back to the present-day or help other people get back here." Snakes wasn't fazed by the rippling effect. "I'll go in first, but you come right after me." He stepped through the oval.

Beau immediately followed. He was stunned when they emerged onto what was apparently a high mountain peak covered with snow. "Well," he said in amazement. "Why doesn't this come out at the same place we went in? You know, Justice in this . . . present-day?"

"I have no idea," Snakes shrugged. "Artemus Gordon said that maybe it had something to do with the fact that Posey was coming from Los Angeles to Justice when everything went haywire. That's where we are now, on top of Mt. San Antonio above L.A."

"And that's a big city now?" Beau was amazed. "I never thought Los Angeles would come to that."

"A lot of people back then didn't." Snakes reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out another odd device. "I'm going to get some transportation up here to take us down."

"Alright, but how?" Beau blinked. "Is that a telephone?"

"Of some description, yeah. I don't have one of my own, but I borrowed one of Ray Norman's. You'll probably meet him." Snakes started to press the numbered buttons in a particular sequence. "We have to use modern transportation to get up and down from here; it takes about eleven hours if you're hiking."

"Well." Beau examined the area. "That wouldn't be a problem for me, but it would be nice to get to the city much sooner than that."

"Especially since it'll be dark soon," Snakes said. Then he turned his attention to the phone. "Hello, we need a helicopter to pick us up on Mt. San Antonio. Get here before twilight and don't ask questions and you'll get a bonus." He pressed another button, which apparently ended the conversation.

Beau was fascinated. "It's like a telegraph without all the wires," he exclaimed. "That's fantastic!"

Snakes grinned. "They are pretty neat." He slipped the phone back in his coat. "And uh . . . I don't know if I can really prepare you for helicopters, but if you know anything about that guy Leonardo da Vinci, he came up with the idea for them."

"Oh really?" That was further amazing to Beau. "I did hear something about that when I was in England. I was disappointed no one had ever successfully built one; it sounded like incredible fun to ride in something like that."

"Let's hope you'll still think so after it shows up," Snakes said. "One of the guys I know, Lafe Morgan, gets motion sick. Poor guy is motion-challenged on every kind of transportation imaginable."

"What on Earth does he do?" Beau exclaimed.

"Walks everywhere," Snakes said. "Or if he's desperate he'll take a motion sickness pill. But those come with side effects, so he's not too crazy about them."

"Still . . . there's pills for motion sickness?" Beau blinked.

"There's pills for just about anything you can think of," Snakes said. "Several times over too. There is some crazy competition in the pill business. Actually, there's crazy competition in every business."

A strange and loud motor drew Beau's attention upward. "Is that the helicopter?" he wondered.

"Yeah, probably," Snakes said. "I guess it could be someone else's helicopter, but hopefully it's ours."

"It's a good thing you advised me to bring this winter coat," Beau remarked. "I never thought I'd need one in Southern Nevada or California."

Snakes smirked. "In the city you might not, although in winter it's actually cold down there too."

"Well, you learn something new every day." Beau stared into the sky, watching as something that actually did somewhat resemble Leonardo da Vinci's drawings started to descend. He gazed upon it in awed amazement.

Snakes looked pleased by Beau's intrigue. "It can't land here, so we'll have to climb up on that," he said, pointing to a rope ladder falling from the open doorway to meet them. He caught the bottom rung and started up.

Beau watched until he was aboard before beginning his own climb. The sound of the swiftly turning blades was loud enough that almost all other sounds were drowned, but still he was fascinated.

"What do you think?" Snakes called as Beau pulled himself into the vehicle.

"I'm not sure," Beau called back. "It's too soon to tell, but overall I'm more amazed than ever."

"Good!" Snakes declared. He climbed onto the seat and fastened some type of strap around himself. "This is to keep from falling out," he explained. "Or getting otherwise jostled around on the ride or in case of a crash."

"That's useful," said Beau, following suit. As he snapped the safety harness in place, he paused in concern. "Do these things crash often?"

"I don't think there's really any more danger with them than with stages or horses or trains," Snakes said honestly. "There's always a chance of something going wrong, and sometimes it does, but usually it doesn't."

"That's encouraging," Beau exclaimed.

The pilot just shook his head. "Who _are_ all these people who hire me lately and don't seem to know much about helicopters?" he muttered.

There wasn't much chance for conversation during the flight, at least not without the pilot overhearing. Beau entertained himself by staring out the window at the approaching city and its skyscrapers in complete awe. When they safely landed at the airfield and a cab was waiting to take them into the city, Beau was thoroughly hyped up by the experience.

"Is this one of those horseless carriages you were talking about?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, an automobile," Snakes said, opening the door. "We'll cruise around the city in style."

Beau stared at the streets, other automobiles, and the buildings, always asking many questions. Snakes was patient, perhaps remembering his first feelings as he answered.

"Look at these lights!" Beau exclaimed as they rode through downtown Los Angeles. "Not even the big cities back home were lit up like this!"

Snakes grinned. "They sure weren't. In one way I guess it's kind of awkward having everything so bright if you'd rather slink quietly through the streets, but then again, most people in the cities won't bother you if you look like you'd rather be left alone. In the small towns, you might still get some inquisitive people."

"How safe is it?" Beau wondered.

"Well . . ." Snakes shrugged. "Duels aren't fought anymore, but there's always the chance of being mugged on the street. I don't think hold-ups happen as much as they do back in the other time. And of course, there aren't Indian . . . er, Native American attacks anywhere and not much danger of wild animal attacks unless you live in a really rural area. But with new technology, there's always new ways to die. I don't know, maybe it's kind of a toss-up."

"It sounds more like you choose most of the possible ways to die here," Beau mused. "Back home, you don't have much choice if Indians or bears or wildcats attack."

"I guess you can look at it that way," Snakes agreed.

Beau also gawked at the people passing on the street. "I can hardly believe some of the things the women are wearing," he remarked. "In our time, some of these clothes wouldn't be seen outside of a saloon performance, and even then, it was rather scandalous!"

"Heh, no kidding," said Snakes. "Fashions have changed a lot, that's for sure. And men's fashions just aren't as interesting. Look at that! All the suits really look alike, just different colors."

"Yes, I see what you mean," Beau frowned. "The suits look nice, but there certainly isn't as much variety. Don't people wonder what you're up to when you dress like this, though?" He gestured at Snakes' purple pinstripe suit and dark hat.

"I get told a lot that I look like I stepped off a Mississippi riverboat," Snakes smirked. "But people come to the casino to gamble, not to worry about how people are dressed. Actually, some people tell me I put them in the mood for a good game."

"Well, that's encouraging," said Beau.

"Isn't it," Snakes grunted. "Then sometimes people just figure I belong to a fashion subculture. There's these people that are obsessed with the clothes of our time and still like to dress in them. Usually they put a few gears or watches or other weird stuff like that on them and call it steampunk."

Beau raised an eyebrow. "Really."

"Makes it convenient, in any case," Snakes said. "I don't have to tell them anything of the truth."

"Where do you work?" Beau asked. "I haven't seen any gambling parlors yet."

"Casino-style gambling is illegal in most of L.A.," Snakes explained. "There's one little subdivision, Gardena, where you can do it without upsetting the law. I work there."

"I see." Beau leaned back, watching the buildings continue to go past.

"Sometimes I've thought of going to Las Vegas, where it's practically illegal _not_ to gamble," Snakes smirked. "But L.A. is where I got my fresh start and I figure it's a good enough place to stay, for a while anyway. Both places are way too hot. But we've got things to help that now, too."

"What could possibly help the heat, other than living in ice houses?" Beau exclaimed.

"Fans that turn around and blow air everywhere," Snakes said. "I've got a ceiling fan in my apartment. And air conditioning too. That's even nicer. These things cool the air just like in ice houses and blow it out through vents all over the building."

"You'll have to show me," Beau said. "It's hard to imagine it."

"It's hard to imagine any of this without seeing it," Snakes said.

"True," said Beau. "I certainly wasn't picturing anything like this, even with everything you told me!"

Snakes laughed. It was a pleasant sound, but to Beau's ears, also somewhat hollow and forced. He was trying to have a good time, and perhaps he honestly was, but he was still hurting from the very near past. Three years of torture couldn't be erased just like that. Really, Beau thought, it was amazing that Snakes was as sane as he currently seemed to be.

In one way, Beau was relieved that he had not seen Snakes at his worst, Hell-bent on destroying his enemies. It would not have been an enjoyable sight. But in another way, he regretted that he had not been there to try to help Snakes. They had not in truth had that much interaction overall, but they had made an indelible impression on each other. Beau, perhaps, might have been able to get through to Snakes and bring him back to stability much sooner than he had got there on his own.

But Snakes had always been a loner and had always done things on his own and he had succeeded in regaining his sanity without Beau's help, even if it _had_ taken a little longer.

That was, perhaps, the loner in Beau talking. His uncle had always worried about him and his wild and expansive ideas, and even though he had let Beau grow up with Bret and Bart like a third brother, the knowledge that his uncle didn't accept him had always hung heavy over his head. He had distanced himself mentally and emotionally from the rest of the family because of it and had fought many of his battles alone.

Still, he had always known that his family was there to fall back on whenever he needed them. Snakes had never had such knowledge. And even his fledgling faith in Beau's friendship had shattered under Pinto's cruel and persistent torture. So yes, Beau continued to wish that he had been there for Snakes as his family had always been there for him.

Beau came back to the present as the cab pulled up in front of a large and flashy building that was contributing plenty of colorful lights to the night sky. "We're here?" he blinked.

"We're at one of the 'heres'," said Snakes. "This is Slim Marcus's casino. I work here." He climbed out of the cab and paid the driver, requesting him to wait. Then, once Beau had got out as well, Snakes strolled to the doors and inside the establishment.

Beau really hadn't known what to expect. Now that they were here, he found himself looking at a brightly lit room filled with enthusiastic patrons, calm and collected dealers, and gambling of all kinds. For a moment he just stood there, taking it all in.

Snakes peered at him. "It's not like anything you've ever seen before, is it?"

Beau shook his head. "There's a few large casinos back home. I thought _they_ were impressive. They still are, but this is even more so. It's incredible!"

"Do you wanna try playing something?" Snakes asked.

Beau looked to the nearest poker table. "I do, but if I get into a game now it could go on for hours and there are so many other things I'd like to see too."

"Try this, then." Snakes went over to a strange box-like machine at the wall. He inserted a coin and pulled the lever and watched as three pictures came up.

"What is this?" Beau blinked.

"Slot machine," Snakes said. "It's sure more about luck than skill, but eh, some people really get addicted to trying to get the pictures to all come out the same." He handed Beau a coin. "Go ahead and try."

Beau was about to slip the coin in when he stopped to really look at it. "This doesn't look like any money I've ever seen," he said. "Even if I won money here, I probably wouldn't be able to use it."

"That's true," Snakes frowned. "Before any of us got jobs here, we sold our old coins for modern-day money. It worked pretty well. But it couldn't really be done in reverse by taking modern money and buying coins from your . . . _our_ time to take back. You wouldn't get nearly as many old coins as what you won, since the coins are worth more here than there. But hey, maybe you could keep any modern money you win for future visits," he added hopefully.

"There's a thought," Beau agreed. "Alright, let's do that." He inserted the coin in the slot machine and pulled the lever.

He didn't really expect anything to happen. But suddenly the pictures lined up and coins poured out of the dispenser. Quickly he whipped off his hat to catch them.

Snakes smirked. "Well, you don't have anything to worry about. It looks like the old Maverick luck is still going strong."

"Yes, isn't it!" Beau laughed. "What is all this? How much are these worth?"

Snakes picked up a couple of coins and glanced at them before tossing them back into Beau's hat. "Probably not a whole lot, all things considered, but it's some pocket change anyway. And it just feels good to win."

"That it does." Beau straightened, holding his upside-down hat full of money, when he caught sight of a dark-haired man emerging from an office. "Is that your boss?"

Snakes looked over with a start. "Oh. Yeah, it is. Hey, Slim!"

Slim Marcus strolled over to them very deliberately. "Hello, Snakes. I heard you were here even though you're on vacation. What's the occasion?"

"I'm showing my friend around," Snakes said. "We've got lots of places to see, so we won't be staying tonight. But Slim, this is Beau Maverick."

The slightest flicker showed in Slim's eyes, but he spoke nothing of what it meant. He smiled, holding out a hand to shake. "Well, Beau Maverick, welcome to my place," he said. "I see you've already got a welcome prize."

"Yes, your machine was very generous," said Beau. "Is there a small bag I might have to put this in?"

"Oh, I think we can find something," Slim said. He led them across the room and over near his office. "Beau Maverick," he mused as they arrived. "Any relation to the Mavericks who traveled and gambled their way through the Old West?"

Beau started. "W-What?" he stammered. "How do you know about them?"

Slim reached into his office and grabbed a cloth bag off a filing cabinet inside. "The Mavericks are pretty legendary in all gambling circles," he said. "There was even a television series made about them fifty years ago or so."

"Oh really?" Beau said awkwardly. He glanced to Snakes, who flushed and seemed not to know how to handle this situation.

As if sensing the confusion and tension, Slim let the subject drop. "Well, nevermind. I imagine there's lots of descendants of those Mavericks by now. Come in again, won't you?"

Beau accepted the bag Slim extended. "I will," he said. "Thank you, Mr. Marcus. We'd better be going now."

"Yeah," Snakes inserted. "We left the cabbie waiting outside. Don't wanna run up the meter too much."

They escaped outside in the next moment. "Well, Snakes, what was that all about?" Beau demanded. "I never stopped to think that maybe my family would be famous 140 years later!"

Snakes rubbed the back of his neck. "Truthfully, I kind of wasn't thinking about that either," he said awkwardly. "I mean, I know about the TV show and all, but I didn't stop to think that maybe Slim would recognize the name _Maverick._ He never struck me as a classic TV show buff."

"And _what_ is a television show?!" Beau cried.

"It's . . . uh . . . like a stage play piped into people's homes with a new story every week," Snakes stammered.

Beau quirked an eyebrow. "That sounds exhausting for the actors. But I'm intrigued. What do the people look like who play my family and me?"

"Pretty impressive, actually," Snakes said. "The first time I caught the show I nearly fell over. I thought maybe the three of you had time-traveled to the 1950s to play yourselves. That's unusual for TV shows based on real people; usually the actors don't look much like the people they're playing."

They reached the cab and Snakes opened the door for Beau, who still had his hands full and had been waiting to sit down again to empty his hat of coins. "This I'll have to see," he said.

"I'll show you some of it," Snakes promised. "Right now, though, we're going out to the Oak Bridge Golf Club. You can meet Ray Norman and Coley Rodman and Lafe Morgan. They all hang out there."

"Great," said Beau, as he scooped up a handful of coins to deposit in the cloth bag.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The Oak Bridge Golf Club was back near the mountains again. When the cab pulled up in the front parking lot, Snakes hesitated before looking to Beau. "I should tell you something before we go in."

Beau, who had finished placing the coins in the cloth bag and had set his hat on his head, raised an eyebrow. " _Another_ bomb?"

"I hope not," Snakes said quickly. "It's just . . . uh . . . well, you know how you and Vandergelt look alike. In this place is a guy who looks like Pinto."

Beau took a moment to process that. "Really." He stared at Snakes. "Exactly like Pinto?"

"Pretty close. He doesn't have sideburns and he has a small scar on his hand from when Pinto tortured him, but aside from that and the way they dress, they're practically identical."

Beau shook his head. "Strange. But alright, you've warned me. I'll try not to show any surprise when I see him."

"Good. He gets kind of sick of having to be reminded that he looks like that creep." Snakes got out of the car and Beau followed suit.

"Wait again?" the cabbie asked.

Snakes glanced at the meter. "I think this time you'd better go. We'll be here a while."

"Okay." The cabbie accepted the money Snakes handed him and watched as the two headed up the walk to the front door. "Strange people," he muttered to nothing in particular while backing out of the parking space. But he didn't really care, since he was getting paid.

The reception room appeared to be empty when they walked in. But when Beau heard the faint sound of something rolling across the marble reception desk, he looked over with a start. "Hello, what's this?"

A silver Persian cat was rolling a pen along. It looked up, processing the guests, and meowed.

"That's Jane," said Snakes. "She belongs to a permanent guest here." He reached over, petting her head. "Hey, Jane."

"She's just allowed to roam everywhere?" Beau said in surprise. He petted her too.

With so much attention, Jane half-closed her eyes in contentment and purred.

"She's pretty well-trained or it wouldn't be allowed," Snakes said. "She loves almost everyone, but her favorite people in the world are her owner Mrs. Featherstone and Ray and Coley."

Beau leaned on the desk with one elbow. "What about Lafe?"

"She likes him too, mainly because he's completely loyal to Coley," Snakes said. "He's kind of awkward around her, but I'm told that Coley was too, at first. He'll probably warm up." He patted Jane again and moved away from the desk. "It's after dinner; Ray's probably in his office. Let's go find him."

Jane jumped down and bounded ahead of Snakes to lead the way. Upon arriving at one particular door, she pawed at it and then reached up to take the knob in her front paws. While Beau gaped and Snakes watched in amusement, Jane turned the knob and opened the door. Then, triumphant, she padded in and leaped on Ray's desk.

Ray was apparently used to this. Although he was on the telephone, he reached to pet her and said, "Hello, Jane."

Jane meowed.

Snakes walked in now too, followed by Beau. "Jane was bringing us here," he said. "We can wait."

"Oh no, I'm on hold," Ray scowled. "And have been for the past twenty minutes."

"So, customer service apparently hasn't improved even with modern technology," Beau commented.

"You could say that," Ray agreed. Then, suddenly realizing what Beau had said, he started. "Wait a minute. I don't recall seeing you around here before."

"He's a friend of mine from the past," Snakes said. "I brought him here to meet everyone. Ray, this is Beau Maverick."

Ray switched the phone to his left hand and held out his right with a smile. "It's good to meet you, Mr. Maverick," he greeted.

"Thank you," said Beau, shaking his hand. "You certainly have an impressive establishment here."

"Wait till you see it in the daytime," said Ray. "How long are you staying?"

"Well . . ." Beau had to admit he hadn't quite thought of that. "I'm not sure," he said honestly.

"A day or two, maybe?" Snakes suggested, glancing to Beau for confirmation.

"Maybe," Beau smiled.

"I have to say, I'm surprised," Ray said. "Oh, not about your staying. But I didn't know Snakes had any friends from his time."

"I had one," Snakes said. "I just . . . wasn't sure if he'd really still care after all these years. But I couldn't leave him hanging, so I went back to find him."

"And it's a good thing he did," Beau said.

"Yes," Ray mused. He leaned back and smiled. "I'm glad that Snakes has another friend. Of course, here he has me and Coley and Lafe. Or we're starting to get to know each other as friends, at least."

"And I'm glad of that," said Beau.

Ray paused, listening to something on the phone. "I think the person I called is finally coming on," he said. "I'm sorry, it's an important call. Maybe you can visit with Coley and Lafe? I think they're checking the security cameras."

"Sure thing," Snakes said. "We'll check in with you later." He waved and headed for the door. "See you."

"Goodbye," Ray called. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Maverick!"

"I feel the same," said Beau.

Jane hopped down from the desk to follow them out. She went out ahead again, heading for the security room.

"You'd almost think she understands everything we're saying," Beau remarked.

"Apparently she does," said Snakes. "Or at least, a lot of it. That's what Coley and Ray tell me, anyway, and the way she acts usually bears them out."

Jane merowed in agreement.

"By the way, Snakes," Beau whispered. "What's a security camera? Is it like the photography cameras back home?"

"There's still those," Snakes said. "But these cameras take moving pictures and show what's happening all over the golf club in real-time."

"Well, that's useful," Beau said, amazed and impressed. "That must help stop a lot of crimes in process."

"That's the main purpose of it," Snakes said.

"Doesn't it invade privacy, though?" Beau frowned.

"Everyone knows the cameras are here," Snakes said. "They're glad to have them."

"That's good then," Beau said.

Arriving at another room, Jane again pawed at the door and opened it. Then, padding in with pleasure, she hopped on the console and stretched out.

"Crazy cat," one man muttered, in a voice that sounded very much like Pinto's. He reached over, petting her as she purred.

"You know she'll always do things like that," Snakes said as he entered.

That man and another whirled to look. "Hey, Tolliver," the one greeted.

Beau stiffened. The first man certainly looked like Pinto as well as sounding like him, but even more of a shock was that Beau recognized the other man. "You!" he cried.

The second man pointed to himself. "Have we met?" he said in confusion.

Beau strode across the room and over to where he was sitting. "It was several years ago, but I still remember," he said. "You and several others rode into the town I was in and started sacking it. No one could even stop you because something in the water supply had frozen them all in place!"

Everybody cringed.

". . . Hey, yeah, I remember you," the second man exclaimed then. "That was up at the first town we did that with. You were the only one who wasn't affected. Why?"

"I rode in after most of the people were paralyzed," Beau said. "One of them managed to tell me not to eat or drink anything. I tried to stop you from looting the town, but someone came up behind me and knocked me out."

"That was me," the first man said. He lifted Jane off the console and held her in his arms, petting her. "Just be glad Frank wasn't the one to find you; he would've shot you on the spot. He was always a sadistic troublemaker."

"So how come you weren't there when West and Gordon rode in?" the second man asked curiously.

"I came to before that and went off in search of you," Beau said. "When I couldn't find you, I went back to the government seat in the territory and heard what was happening from the governor."

"Uh, I think we need to start over," Snakes said awkwardly, looking from Beau to the others. "This is Coley Rodman and Lafe Morgan. Guys, this is Beau Maverick. He's a friend of mine from our old time. I brought him here for a visit, but I had no idea he'd had an encounter with you before."

"And we had no idea you actually had a friend from the old time," Coley grunted.

Snakes sighed. "I was afraid maybe he wasn't still a friend after all the years Pinto tortured me. But I went back to find out, and to let him know I was okay in any case."

Lafe got up from the chair. "Hey, that's great that Snakes has a friend," he said cheerfully. Sobering a bit, he added, "I'm really sorry we had to meet like that, but it could have been a lot worse."

Beau heaved a sigh, trying to calm himself. "Yes, I suppose it could have. At least I found out that the paralyzing effect was only temporary. I guess it was better than shooting everyone down, but I'm still not in the habit of approving of bandits."

Coley grunted, standing up as well. "I always looked at it as being in a business," he said. "We looted the stuff, found a fence, and sold it. But all of that's over now; we're living honest lives working with Ray."

"Actually, it was easier for Coley to adjust to that than me," Lafe offered. "He was so sick of running from the law that he was ready for a change. I'm still not sure the honest life is going to work for me. But I wanted to give it my best try, for his sake."

"Well, I . . . wish you all the best," Beau said.

Jane, settled happily in Coley's arms, meowed.

". . . If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'll be right back," Beau said, shooting a silent glance at Snakes before leaving the room.

Snakes shrugged helplessly at the others. "I'll be back too," he said, following Beau out and shutting the door as he went.

Beau had started to pace a bit, but he came back to Snakes once Snakes was there. "I'm sorry, Snakes," he sighed. "I just suddenly wondered what I was _doing._ My friend was a crime boss and two of _his_ friends were thieves and robbers . . ." He shook his head.

"And you're a con artist," Snakes said.

"I know," Beau admitted. "But I only con other con artists and worse criminals. You, at least, always insisted you didn't harm innocent people. Your friends in there can't make those claims."

"You're right," Snakes said. "And they'd be the first to tell you so. But they did, at least, always try to get away without shooting at anyone unless they were shot at first." He sighed. "I don't know if they ever actually shot anyone at all, except in self-defense on occasions when they weren't robbing. I never asked. Coley shot that Frank guy he mentioned, when Frank wanted to go into business for himself and tried to shoot Coley after being punched. And later, Coley shot a mad scientist after the guy had drawn a gun and was going to shoot either Coley or Lafe."

"The mad scientist that developed the paralyzing drug, I take it?" Beau said.

"Yeah. He wanted to use a different drug to kill off entire towns and Coley wouldn't have that. As I understand it, Jim West burst into the room and he and Lafe got into a fight and the doc flipped out because he thought all the fighting was going to destroy everything he'd created to kill everybody else."

Beau shook his head. "Well, at least they didn't condone the worse drug," he had to concede.

"And I guess maybe I should tell you that Ray was a blackmailer," Snakes added. "Also reformed." He paused. "And my boss has a shady past too."

"Oh . . ." Overwhelmed, Beau leaned on the wall with an elbow while running his hand into his hair. "Coley doesn't seem to have any regrets for the life he lived," he commented. "Describing it as a business. . . ."

Snakes shrugged. "He's pretty sincere about starting over, though," he said. "What Lafe said about Coley being into trying an honest life is the truth." He hesitated. "If you want the truth, I don't regret a lot of things about having been a crime boss. For a while I was finally top dog; no one could get at me to hurt me. That was a pretty big thing after having been kicked around like a puppy most of my life. And I made life better for everyone in the towns I took over; you have to admit that."

"Yes," Beau agreed quietly. "But they had to shelter you and your goons in return."

"Which they were all happy to do; I never forced them into it. And I tried not to let them know about all of my criminal operations."

"Some of them no doubt suspected," Beau pointed out.

"If they did, they didn't wanna know for sure. Things went along like that for a good, long while, pretty peaceful-like."

"I wonder what they would think of your being alive again now," Beau said.

"Yeah . . . I wonder too." Snakes sighed. "I guess I kind of hope they'd be glad. But maybe they'd only care if I went back to keep helping them with their towns. They probably only liked me because I was a free ticket to fixing up anything they didn't have the money or resources for."

"Maybe," Beau said. "Or maybe they liked you because you cared what happened to them."

"Maybe. But I can't go back, Beau. The other people in my organization no doubt took over for me, and with the break-up of Posey's gang, they're independent again. The people in those towns are being cared for. If I went back, I don't think my old men would want to give me my position again. They're the top dogs now."

"Not to mention you're trying to go straight," Beau remarked.

"Yeah. If I did go back, it would be with the idea of straightening everything up. But I'd probably only be killed in a power struggle. And not just that, but the mad scientist lady who brought me back is looking for me." Snakes sighed. "She wants to show her accomplishments to the President of the United States. If she gets hold of me again, she'll never let me go."

Beau was alarmed. "Is that why you decided to live here?"

"It's one reason," Snakes said. "Another is that I just plain like it here and there were chances for me to start over fresh if I stayed here."

Beau slowly nodded. ". . . What happened with Miss Posey's gang, speaking of them?"

"They live here, mostly," Snakes said. "But they pass back and forth between the times." He hesitated. They had really gotten off the discussion of the elephant in the room. ". . . These people you've met are all good guys, Beau," he said in all earnestness. "I came to them for help and advice on how to keep going straight and not fall back into a life of crime."

"I'm glad for you, Snakes," Beau said. "And I'm glad for them if they're really trying to change as well." He looked back to the door. "I was shaken and surprised, but I should have tried to be more accepting of them."

"I think anybody would be shaken and surprised to discover people they had a negative encounter with," Snakes said. "Depending on what the encounter was, I might have practically hyperventilated in a situation like that."

"I'd like to try again now, if I haven't completely botched things." Beau turned back to the door.

Snakes went with him in relief. "They'll understand," he insisted. "I'm sure of it." He opened the door.

Coley and Lafe were back at the console now, but Jane was on Coley's lap. They turned at the sound of the door opening. "So what did you figure out?" Coley asked.

Beau exchanged a look with Snakes before stepping forward. "I'm . . . very curious about these security cameras and their moving pictures," he said. "If you'd be willing to show me how they work, I would be very grateful."

". . . Sure," Coley said, quickly warming to the situation and the true meaning behind Beau's words. "Just pull up a chair and I'll explain it."

xxxx

It was some time later, including after a late dinner for Snakes and Beau, when they left Oak Bridge in another cab. Ray had invited them to stay the night, but Snakes had wanted to show Beau his apartment, so they declined but promised to return the next day.

"I have to say, I'm a little surprised that you're always traveling in cabs," Beau said. "Don't you own one of these incredible inventions?"

"Not yet," Snakes said. Looking a little embarrassed, he added, "I don't know how to drive yet. I'm so used to other people being in charge of that kind of thing that it's kind of hard to drop that mindset. I like relaxing and enjoying the ride instead of being stressed out worrying about driving in the right lane and not hitting other cars or people and not getting hit by bad drivers."

"Well," said Beau, "I suppose I can understand that. Driving sounds like a great deal of work."

"And Mavericks hate work. I know," Snakes nodded.

"I'd still like to learn, though," Beau suddenly continued. "How would I go about that?"

"You'd need to enroll in a driving school," Snakes said. "It's kind of expensive."

"Then that's what I'll save my modern money for," Beau determined. "That, and purchasing an automobile when the time comes. I could keep it at your residence, couldn't I?"

"Sure," said Snakes. "But you're getting pretty ahead of yourself. It'd take you a long time to get enough money for classes. And uh, you'd have to get fake identification made up. You couldn't go marching in there saying you were born in the 1840s."

Beau winced. "You've got an excellent point. So whom would I see about that?"

"A shady sort of person," Snakes said. "And you'd probably have to pay through the nose for that. Oh, wait a minute. I could just ask Artemus Gordon to make it up for you the next time he visits. He had to make one up for himself so he could enroll."

"That's wonderful!" Beau said enthusiastically. "And it cuts down on the cost, I'm sure."

"Oh yeah. He'd do it for free, probably."

"And as for the money I'd need for the classes and the vehicle, I'm sure it wouldn't take me too long to win it gambling at your casino," Beau smiled.

"Heh. Somehow I knew you were going to say that," Snakes remarked. "Okay, feel free to try your hand at it tomorrow."

"I will!" Beau declared.

By now they were back in Gardena. The cab pulled up in front of a modern apartment building and Snakes climbed out, paying the driver before strolling up to the door with Beau. "I walk to work, so I made sure to get a place not too far away," he explained.

"It's lucky you were able to find something this close," Beau said.

"Oh yeah. And it's a great place too." Snakes headed inside, then paused. "I usually go up the stairs, but tonight let's try the elevator. It'll take us up quick." He started towards two metal doors.

Beau watched in fascination as he pressed a button and the doors opened, revealing a room inside. As they walked in, Snakes pressed another button and the doors closed. The machine lurched and started its ascent.

"I can imagine Cousin Bret saying something about how an invention like this would make people very lazy," Beau remarked. "Of course, then he would use it. And probably keep complaining while he was doing so."

"Heh," said Snakes. "Yeah, I can picture him doing that, alright."

The elevator stopped on the right floor and Snakes got out, leading Beau to a specific door. Beau looked around the corridor in amazement. "I've never seen such a nice apartment building," he confessed. "Usually they're just for the very poor in England and New York."

"And there's a lot of crummy ones around," Snakes said. "But there's lots of ritzy ones now too." He unlocked the door and pushed it open, reaching for the light switch at the same time. "Mine's . . . uh, not one of the really big ones, but it's pretty nice and it's okay for now."

Beau looked around the small but pleasant living room. The furniture was blue and somewhat worn, but still had good years left. A poker table stood in the middle of the floor, while a countertop and arch separated the living room from the kitchen area.

"This is nice," Beau agreed in some surprise.

"But?" Snakes prompted.

"It's just . . . strange to think of you living in a place like this compared to the mansions you had back in our time," Beau admitted.

"Yeah, I guess it kind of is," Snakes mused. "But I was top dog there, at least for a while. Mansions made sense. Here, I'm just a common gambler. I don't need a lot of space."

"No, I guess not," Beau conceded.

"I might get a house someday," Snakes said. "Not a big one, probably, but an average-sized one. For now, though, this is good enough."

"You're satisfied on less," Beau observed. "Maybe that's a good thing."

"I like to think so," Snakes said.

He turned on another light and headed down the small hall to a half-open door. This he pushed open the rest of the way and flipped a third light switch. "Here's the ceiling fan," he announced.

Beau came over to look. A strange device with four horizontal paddles was suspended from the ceiling, half-over the bed. Snakes pulled a thin chain hanging from it and it whirred to life, spinning the paddles and swirling the air in the room.

"Fantastic!" Beau exclaimed.

"Of course, it can only blow around the kind of air that's in here, so in summer you need the air conditioning I was talking about too." Snakes went into the hall and showed Beau a small white box with a tiny screen and several buttons. "I'm lucky that this building has individual central heating and air. In some buildings, the landlord controls the heat and air conditioning for all the apartments. In a place like this, I can put on the cool air in here and it won't affect any other apartment." He slid a small lever and a gentle motor started. Then he went back into the bedroom and over to a vent in the floor. "See?"

Beau came over and held out his hand to feel the emerging cool air. "Wow, that's cold," he exclaimed.

Snakes smirked. "It's great. Even though I'm from the South, I never could abide the heat. Ironic that I'd end up living in a really hot place."

"But with inventions like these, it wouldn't matter," said Beau.

Snakes nodded. "I just go to sleep with all this nice air blowing around me." He looked to Beau. "I have an extra room that I could make up into a guest-room, but I haven't yet. You can take the bed tonight; you should, as my guest. I'll sleep on the couch. It's nice and soft."

"Well, thank you, Snakes," Beau said. He started to take off his light tan coat. "Where do I wash up for bed?"

"In here." Snakes left the bedroom again and turned right, opening another door. "Indoor plumbing is a great thing, I'm telling you."

"It certainly is," Beau said appreciatively. "I'm liking this modern world more all the time."

Snakes grinned. "That's good. I'm kind of hoping you'll visit often."

"I intend to," Beau vowed. "And I hope to get Cousin Bret and Cousin Bart out here to see it too."

"Heh. Well, they might not like it as much as you do, but I guess they might find some things to get a kick out of," Snakes said.

"I think they would," Beau said as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Snakes went back into the bedroom and opened a closet to take down a quilt and pillow for the couch. Beau had commented on how everything Snakes had told him felt like a dream. Snakes concurred. All of that seemed unreal, and for that matter, so did this.

For once in his life, he was truly, completely happy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The next day was a whirlwind of exploration and activity. Snakes and Beau dined at a local cafe before going back to Oak Bridge to tour the establishment in the daytime and play a round of golf. Then it was off to Slim Marcus's casino, where the Maverick luck persisted and Beau won himself a good amount of money to put towards driving classes and a second-hand car. Snakes offered to hold the money for Beau in a special account at his bank, which Beau accepted.

It was when they were walking out of the bank that winter evening that Snakes sensed Beau was sobered. "What is it?" he frowned.

Beau sighed. "I don't know, Snakes. Everything has been amazing and wonderful here and I can see why you want to stay. I certainly want to visit more. But . . ." He pushed his hat back on his head. "Do either of us really belong here?" he asked at last.

Snakes didn't seem that surprised. "Well," he grunted, "there's stuff in some science-fiction stories about how living outside of your own time messes up the whole space-time continuum, but that's a lot of bunk. It's not even that popular these days, because there's a long-running TV series all about time-travel that presents the idea that it's okay to live outside of the time you were born in. I think a lot of people are starting to go with that idea more."

"That's very interesting, but that's not really what I meant," Beau amended. "I just mean that we're from another era completely. We can't even live in this time properly without creating false identification for ourselves. What happens when we're found out?"

"I don't think much would happen," Snakes said gruffly, pushing his hat back on his head. "And anyway, don't you Mavericks believe in living for the moment?"

"Yes. I probably believe in that more than the others. But I don't like to deliberately do things that might very likely result in being held behind bars with no hope of release. Really, Snakes, don't you realize that we could be in a lot of trouble if it's discovered that we don't belong here?"

"What are they gonna do, deport us back through the portal?" Snakes said dryly. He shoved his hands in his coat pockets as they walked down the sidewalk, heading back to his apartment.

"They wouldn't even believe the portal exists!" Beau exclaimed. "They might think we're international criminals on the run. We could be tied up for years while they investigate!"

"Not likely."

Beau stopped walking at the corner and turned to look at his strange companion. The inflection in Snakes' voice was not idealistic naivete; it told a much deeper and darker story. "You're still holding something back, aren't you?" he realized. "After all this, you still haven't told me the entire truth!"

Snakes sighed heavily in resignation. "No, I haven't," he confessed, "but not for whatever reasons you're probably thinking. I just . . . didn't wanna blow my own horn any more than I already have."

"What?" Beau scoffed.

Snakes pressed the button and waited for the cars to stop. When he spoke, his tone was quieter. "That . . . incident that got me burned. I still kind of glossed over some of it. There was more to it than what I said."

"For Heaven's sake, _what?_ " Beau demanded.

The light changed and Snakes started across the street, Beau hurrying right alongside him. "The organization that was trying to mess up the world was one of those crazy international organizations of evil. I think it was started maybe thirty years after your . . . _our_ time. And Jim West and Artemus Gordon weren't the only government people trying to stop it; there were also Feds from this time."

"I guess that shouldn't surprise me," Beau said.

Snakes nodded. "Since this was a worldwide mess, everyone in the entire world who wouldn't join the criminal organization was slated for death. You'd either join and get into one of their places of protection or you'd be killed when their machine activated."

They reached the other side of the street and Beau grabbed Snakes' arm, wanting him to look up. "And you saved them all," he said. "The crime boss who vowed he always looked after himself protected the entire planet."

Snakes went completely red. "Like I already told you, it was selfish, really. I thought I'd die either way and if I could just keep Pinto from dying too, I'd rest in peace that time." He pulled his arm away. "I'm not a hero. I'm really not. The point is just that the Feds here know about me. They know about Jim and Arte and Coley and Lafe and the portal. They're okay with all of it. And if any of us gets in trouble here with being found out, all we have to do is call this government organization and they'll square it for us."

"That's good to know," Beau said. "And I can't make you feel like a hero if you really don't. But I will continue to see you that way."

"Go ahead, if you want." They reached the apartment building and Snakes went up the steps and inside. Beau followed, and after another elevator ride they were back at Snakes' apartment. Snakes waited until they were inside before speaking again. "Are you still worried about getting in trouble?"

"No, not really," Beau said. He hesitated again. "But I'd like to ask you something that I'm not sure I should."

"Ask it anyway," Snakes said. "Better than not saying anything and regretting it later."

". . . I just wondered if . . . while you were . . . dead, you saw me when I came to Justice looking for information about what happened."

Snakes drew a deep breath. "Yes, I did," he said. "I saw you ride in, park your horse in front of the sheriff's office, and go in to talk to him. And I saw you accidentally drop your wallet outside and the deputy try to fine you for 'littering.'"

Beau stared at him. "You really did see me," he breathed. "It would be easy enough to imagine me going to talk to the sheriff, but the wallet incident was too specific."

"Did you really not believe me about being dead and trapped there until now?" Snakes asked.

"I believed you," Beau insisted. "It's just that knowing you saw all that . . . really drives it home."

Snakes nodded. "It was an awful time. I hung around you until you left, but I couldn't communicate with you. Then when you passed outside the town limits, I couldn't follow you any more."

"I'm so sorry." Beau shook his head, suddenly overwhelmed. "I had no idea you were there." He paused. "But I do know what it's like to be dead and trying in vain to communicate. How did you know I died once?"

"Read about the shooting in the paper," Snakes said. "One reporter actually had the guts to tell it like it was, that you died from the bullet and revived some time later in the funeral parlor."

"That was before we ever met," Beau said. "You never mentioned you knew."

"Should I have?" Snakes shrugged. "That wasn't really relevant to any of the things we talked about in those other meetings."

"No, I guess it wasn't." Beau studied his friend. "Are you really alright now?"

"Yeah, I am," Snakes answered quickly. "Oh, I think about the past sometimes . . . too much, really, but that's normal under the circumstances. I'll probably never stop thinking about what happened to me altogether." He looked at Beau. "What about you? Are you okay?"

"I am now," Beau said. "It took a long time to recover from what happened to me, even though I didn't go through anything like what you did, with Pinto torturing you. I can't imagine how long it took you."

"And you can thank your lucky stars for that," Snakes declared. "I will too. I hate to even think of you being caught and mutilated like I was over and over again." He shuddered.

"I can't imagine a worse Hell," Beau exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, it's over now and I'm okay," Snakes insisted. "I was thinking last night that I'm finally happy."

Beau smiled. "I'm glad." He paused again. "Snakes . . . you keep saying 'my' time and then correcting yourself. I know you said that you don't feel as far removed from the past as Coley does, but it seems to me that you do. It's not even 'your' time anymore."

"My life is here now," Snakes said simply. "But since there are still people and things I like back there, I feel divided. Sometimes I don't know if I really belong either place anymore."

"Maybe that's what I'm feeling now as well," Beau said slowly. "Or at least, some part of it. It's hard to think of going back to the past after seeing all this. And yet, that world is still my home. My family is there, I understand how it works there, and my identification is for there. This is a marvelous world, but it feels almost like a fairy story compared to the reality I've grown up in. I don't know how I'm ever going to tell Cousin Bret and Cousin Bart about it."

"Don't tell them," Snakes retorted. "Just tell them you're taking them on a new adventure and bring them here."

"Maybe I should. But I don't know how they'd accept it once here if I didn't try to prepare them a bit," Beau said wryly. He started to pace the floor. "We're from different times now, Snakes. We each have ties to the worlds that aren't really ours: you to the past and me to here."

Snakes shrugged. "Is that much different than it ever was? We always walked different paths, Beau. You were the knight in shining armor, out for adventure and to protect people from the big bad crooks. Me, I was the kicked puppy that decided to protect myself no matter what I had to do or who I had to hurt."

"And still our paths have managed to cross time and again." Beau stopped pacing and looked to Snakes. "I hope that's something else that will also never be different."

Snakes perked up. "You'd better believe it," he declared. "So you definitely will still visit?"

"Of course," Beau smiled.

"You're not thinking of going back right now, are you?"

"No, not now." Beau glanced out the window. "Night's coming on. Anyway, you still haven't shown me this . . . television series about my family."

"Oh!" Snakes hurried to the television set and flipped it on. "I can do that right now. I have episodes recorded from Cozi TV. Uh, that's a television channel that specializes in showing old shows like that."

Beau came over to look. As Snakes loaded the tape and the episode started, he raised an eyebrow. "Well . . . that man _does_ bear a certain resemblance to Cousin Bret," he said slowly.

"Certain resemblance? He's Bret's twin brother!" Snakes shot back.

"Am 'I' in this episode?" Beau wondered.

"No; you and Bret never had a story together." Snakes watched the screen as he spoke. "They started out wanting to focus on the brothers . . . oh, there's Bart . . . and when the actor playing Bret wanted out, they dug around for some more stories they could tell since they wanted two leads, and they got somebody to play you."

"I see," said Beau.

They watched the episode and then moved on to one with Beau. The real Beau stared at the screen, shaking his head. "It is uncanny about these actors, I have to admit," he said.

"You bet it is," Snakes exclaimed.

"You say you wondered if we had time-traveled and arranged the series and chose actors to play us?" Beau asked.

"I sure did," Snakes said.

"Maybe," Beau said, continuing to stare at the screen, "I should ask Cousin Bret and Cousin Bart about this. After all, we never tell each other _everything._ "

"You do that," said Snakes. "And if they deny it and won't believe it, bring them here to have a look."

"You'd let Cousin Bret come into your apartment?" Beau blinked.

"Eh. Like I said, I might feel different about him now," Snakes shrugged. "Anyway, he always seemed to end up at my places. What's one more?"

Beau chuckled. "You do have a point."

He settled back to enjoy the rest of the episode. Maybe it was true that now he was torn between the times the same way Snakes was. But, he decided, there was really no reason why he couldn't enjoy both places. After all, ever since he had grown up, he had never had strictly one place to call home.

And maybe, he thought as he looked at the relaxed Snakes, that really wasn't a bad way to live at all.

xxxx

It was hard to say Goodbye to Snakes, after not only the past couple of days but the past three years of being upset over his pointless death. But it was as Beau had said, that they lived in different times now. And in any case, they had always needed to part ways eventually. So when Snakes took him back through the portal the next day, they stood beside the Justice side of it and said their farewells.

"Come back soon, alright?" Snakes requested. "I'm going to get a cell phone of my own. You can call me whenever you decide to come through. Or heck, you can call the airfield and get a helicopter and come on down." He held out a phone that looked like the one he had used to summon a helicopter for them two days ago.

"What's this?" Beau said in amazement as he took it.

"Ray said he doesn't need extra phones around," Snakes said. "I talked to him about this one and he said you could have it. I already know the number for it, so when I get a phone I'll send a message to this one and let you know. You probably won't see the message until you're back on my side of the portal, but it'll be there."

"Thank you, Snakes," Beau said, moved. "I'll keep it safe."

"You'd better," said Snakes. "If you get robbed, the crooks won't know what to do with it."

Beau had to laugh. Slipping the phone into his pocket, he said, "It's been an incredible experience. Thank you for coming back to find me."

"It was as much for me as it was for you," Snakes said. "Maybe more for me."

"Same old Snakes." Beau laid a hand on Snakes' shoulder. "I'll come back soon," he promised. "And I may bring the others."

"Do that." Snakes reached and took Beau's hand, clasping it firmly for a moment. "It's been nice showing you around my time. And even though you don't want to stay permanently, at least you're able to accept it better than you could my crime-bossing."

Beau smirked. "That's true." He started to turn away. "I'd better get going."

"Yeah. Goodbye, Beau."

Beau turned back, hearing the melancholy tone to Snakes' voice. On impulse, and despite his general lack of enjoyment at being touched, Beau suddenly pulled his friend into a brief embrace. Stunned, Snakes recovered enough to return it before they pulled back.

Beau could feel Snakes watching him as he set out for the short walk back to town. He had the feeling Snakes would probably stay there until he couldn't see Beau any longer.

It was strange to be back here, after all he had seen. Up ahead, the old wooden buildings were becoming more and more visible. This was the world Beau and Snakes had both grown up in and both knew best, yet it was no longer the world Snakes chose to really call his own. Perhaps someday Beau would desire to follow him through the portal and stay there, only coming back here to visit his family. After all, they could be apart for months at a time, even while they were all in the same year. Still, for right now Beau was not ready to make that jump. This was still home.

"Hey, Beau!"

He looked up with a start. Bart was approaching on a horse, followed closely by Bret. Both looked absolutely perplexed to see him walking in the middle of nowhere.

"What happened to your horse?" Bret exclaimed. "Did you get robbed?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Beau assured them. "My horse is . . . probably back in town now."

"Oh, something spooked her," Bret decided.

"I don't think so." Beau looked from him to Bart. "But what are you both doing here?"

Bret leaned on his horse. "We started hearing some weird rumors a few towns over."

Bart nodded. "Rumors that Snakes Tolliver had been seen alive in these parts. We thought we needed to come find you."

Beau smiled a bit. "So I wouldn't get my hopes up?"

"Something like that," Bret said.

"Well . . ." Beau debated how to answer that. "Snakes _is_ alive. Actually, I've been with him the last couple of days."

"Is he hiding out in the mountains?" Bart blinked. "There aren't any charges against him, since he was . . . well, considered dead. . . ."

"He's not in the mountains," Beau said. "But back there in the desert is the path to reach him."

"I don't follow," Bret frowned.

"We'll all go back to town and I'll explain it all there," Beau said firmly. "And oh, Cousin Bret, Cousin Bart, I need to ask you something." He climbed onto Bart's horse behind him. "Are either of you familiar with a production made about our adventures?"

Bart gave him a weird look. "What production? You mean like a stage play?"

"Not exactly, but that will do for now," Beau replied.

"Well, now, that sounds like a fantasy right out of your dreams," Bret drawled. "Who'd want to make a production about us?"

"I wonder," Beau mused. There was a certain inflection in Bret's tone that sounded suspicious to him. Maybe he was just imagining it.

Then again, maybe he wasn't.


End file.
